Not So Simple After All
by artist in the spotlight
Summary: If it had been any other person it would have been easy. But no, it just had to be her. sasusaku
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, would I really be on this site? Please..**

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**Not So Simple After All**

It had seemed so simple. Too simple…

And now, it was the hardest thing he ever had to do. If it had been any other person, it would have been easy. But no, it just had to be her.

His mission was to gain the Mangekyou Sharingan to defeat his brother. In order to do that, he had to kill someone that was precious to him. He had failed to kill Naruto 5 years ago, so he decided instead of making a fool of himself again, he would find someone else.

Someone else precious to him: Her.

She had been precious to him when they were on the same genin team that was a basic fact that he accepted. But he refused to consider her precious now; he had no precious people now that he was part of the Sound. But he cherished her memory, so hopefully that would be enough to gain the Mangekyou when he killed her.

At least, that was his reasoning before he actually got here.

He didn't understand. Sasuke had killed both young and old out of simple boredom. Why could he not kill her? The answer was so simple; he still cared for her, not just her memory, but her.

But all his rational thoughts contradicted that. They told him she was a silly little girl who let her emotions control her. She wasn't worth his time. She was the absolute worst excuse for a ninja. She was weak. She was pathetic.

And yet, he could not bring himself to even raise his kunai against her.

She was so annoying…Always had been, always will be, but now more than ever…

_She was a silly little girl…_

No, she was a woman now. He could tell by just looking at her form curled up on top of her covers. He could feel a bead of sweat going down his neck. 'Damn, she had filled out nicely.' She was still smaller than him, but he could see her toned muscles and hourglass curves.

_Who let her emotions control her…_

Well, he couldn't prove that true or false. But she did have a jounin vest lying on her floor and a jounin badge on her dresser. And he knew it was absolutely essential for jounin to control their emotions.

_She wasn't worth his time…_

Yet, he had squatted outside her window for almost 2 hours watching her sleep. He could not bring himself to even open the window, knowing it would be one step closer to her death.

_She was the absolute worst excuse for a ninja…_

She was a jounin now. A medic nin too. She went on important missions just like every other strong ninja. She spent her time saving lives, each and every one was precious to her. He destroyed lives as if they were nothing.

_She was weak…_

Certainly not. Rumors had even reached Oto that the only person who was better than her at medical jutsus was the Hokage herself.

_She was pathetic…_

Then he was really pathetic outside her window, peering at her sleeping form. He had claimed himself heartless, but he had to hold this emotion for her somewhere, right? If he had to choose, he'd consider himself the pathetic one, running to the evil Snake Sannin for power.

Why did he leave her? To get more power…Why? To avenge his clan and kill Itachi…Why? Because his bastard older brother had massacred his entire clan…Why? To test his capacity, to see if he could do it.

That. Heartless. Bastard.

Now, Itachi could kill her without a second thought, seeing as he killed his mother, father, grandfather, grandmother, aunt, uncle, cousin…and the list went on. But he had promised himself he would never be like his brother. Ironic how over the years, he had practically followed in his footsteps by becoming a missingnin. All he had to do now was kill her, and he'd be just like him, but it was the only way to get the power he needed.

He unlatched the window and raised it up as quietly as he could. He stepped inside, his eyes locked on her sleeping form.

Her breaths were light and feathery as her chest rose and fell. Her brow was furrowed, 'Bad dream?' he ventured. Her silky pink hair fell around her face like a halo. 'She grew her hair long again?'

Great, now he had both feet inside. Just a few more steps left to go. 'Walk forward.'

…

'Walk!'

…

'Walk, damn it!'

…

'She is the most annoying person that ever lived.'

…

'Just pretend she's a complete stranger. It'll be easy.'

…

'Goddamn it!'

"_It won't bring you happiness. Not you, me, or anyone…"_

'No, no.'

"_I love you with all my heart…"_

'Please don't.'

"_Sasuke-kun…"_

'Sakura…'

He slowly walked towards her bed and kneeled beside her. His heart pounded as he reached out to stroke her cheek gently. Her sea foam eyes snapped open and widened when they locked with the obsidian orbs of her long lost love.

Moments passed and neither said a word. All she remembered was her hard work and training and crying. Had her wish really been granted? All he remembered the night he left her and a pleading voice begging him to stay. Did she still love him?

He leaned in closer till their noses were touching and inhaled her scent.

"Sasuke-kun?"

He closed his eyes and winced, jerking his head away as if he had been burned or something. It hurt so much. There was a tightening pain around his heart, like a tight leash. It was going to choke him to death. He hadn't felt anything like that in years.

"Shhh, Sakura."

He stared at her silently, and she stared back. An idea was forming in his mind, a plan. And he was going to follow it this time, no matter what.

He softly whispered a jutsu to lull her back to sleep. Her tugged the cover out from under her and tucked her in. Her half-lidded eyes followed his movements lazily. She was still too overwhelmed by the situation to think straight, and she couldn't find the energy to stay awake.

"Sakura, I'll come back to you. I promise, I will return." He paused at he noticed her eyes were shutting completely. "You see, I have a mission to finish, but then I can come back, to figure out a few things." 'Like why you make me feel this way.'

Her eyes were shut now, and he could safely get away without a scene. He left her a few last parting words, "See you soon, Sakura." And with that, he was gone.

--------------------------------------------------Later-------------------------------------------------

Sakura woke up with a start. It was still very early in the morning. 'Was I dreaming? Sasuke-kun was here. He said he'd come home. Please don't let that be a dream.'

Inner Sakura sighed and said, "Or course it was a dream. You dream about him every time. Why can't you dream about something nicer, like candy, or me?'

'You? Nicer?'

"Shut up. Well, now that we've cleared up that you were dreaming, _again_, let's get back to dreaming. I need my beauty sleep."

'Wait, if I was dreaming, why is the window open?'

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Whew! That was my first fic. Hope you liked it! If you didn't, I don't give a crap.

Reviews are much appreciated. If you are going to criticize me, at least make it a bit constructive.


	2. Chapter 2

Tuesday, July 04, 2006

**Not So Simple After All**

**Chapter 2**

Pakkun wagged his tail back and forth as he sniffed around the room. "Well," he said, "someone was here, but I can't tell if it was the Uchiha or not."

"Alright Pakkun," Kakashi said, "Naruto should be back any minute, then we'll find out for sure."

"Kakashi, thank you for coming out tonight. I know it's very late and this whole thing sounds really stupid," said Sakura. She'd been strangely quiet most of the time they were investigating. That must have been the longest sentence she'd said the whole time he'd been in her apartment.

"Of course it's not stupid; in fact, this matter is very serious. However, it is very late, or rather, very early in the morning," he replied.

He sighed again. He'd gotten a call around 2:30 in the morning. He heard Naruto's voice on the other line telling him to come over to Sakura's apartment and to bring Pakkun.

Apparently, Sakura thought Sasuke Uchiha had broken into her room through her window.

The window being open wasn't a very good reason to suspect a break-in. Sakura could have easily forgotten to close it the night before. She swore she saw Sasuke, but she was probably only dreaming about him again.

It wasn't until he heard the lock on her window had been broken by a shuriken that he agreed it was a break-in. But there was still no proof it was Sasuke yet.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Sakura jumped off her bed and opened the door to reveal Naruto. The only thing he said was, "I got it."

"Good," Sakura said. She was still a little shook up.

In Naruto's hand was a shirt he had gotten out of Sasuke's closet. Breaking into the Uchiha compound was easy, it was actually finding Sasuke's room that was the hard part. After that he had taken one of the many things Sasuke had left behind. It was a shirt Sasuke had worn during his genin days, blue with the Uchiha symbol on the back.

Naruto handed the shirt to Kakashi, who then held it out in front of Pakkun. He said, "Can you match this scent to anywhere in this room, specifically the window?"

Pakkun sniffed the article of clothing before trudging towards the window. His nose roamed over the area for what seemed like forever before he faced them again. "It's a little different scent, but it's definitely the Uchiha. And it's still fresh."

"How fresh?" asked Kakashi.

"Less than an hour old," Pakkun answered.

'O boy,' Kakashi thought, 'Tsunade is gonna freak.'

"Kakashi-sensei, what should we do?"

It was Sakura, and she had just called him "sensei" again though he hadn't been her sensei in years. She didn't call anyone "sensei" except Tsunade anymore. So… … … … it was understood. Sakura was scared. She didn't know what to do. She wanted Kakashi to take the lead. He would do the right thing. He could handle himself in situations like these. Naruto would be rash and Sakura would be indecisive, but Kakashi would keep a level head.

It was understood by all three.

"Naruto," he called, "Inform the Hokage immediately. The Anbu squad might be able to catch up to him if we hurry. Remember, less than an hour."

Naruto nodded solemnly as he slid his goofy nightcap off. He'd forgotten to take it off earlier when he heard Sakura's panicked voice on the phone. There was a "poof" and he was gone.

Now was the hard part. Kakashi turned to Sakura and inquired, "Sakura, when you saw him, what was he doing?"

"Well, I was in bed, and he-he was leaning over me. And, well, everything's pretty hazy after that, but I think…"

"What happened, Sakura?"

"He promised me… he promised me he'd come back!" The words spilled out of her mouth before she could stop them. "I think," she added.

"Did he say anything else?" Kakashi asked.

"I think he said something about a mission, but… everything is so fuzzy."

"Is there anything clear?"

She said, "I can remember waking up with Sasuke hovering over me, but like I said, everything else is…" Her hand automatically went to a spot on her cheek.

His touch…

Kakashi walked over to her window and carefully plied out the shuriken before shutting the window. "Get you locks replaced soon. Maybe a watch dog would help. I could loan you one of mine."

"Thank you," she murmured, "Kakashi?"

'No more "sensei" at least.' He answered, "Sakura?"

"They're not gonna kill him, are they?"

"…" No answer.

"I mean, they would just aim to subdue, not to kill, right?"

"I don't know. But they will kill if necessary. He's a criminal, a missing nin."

"Oh…"

"Come on, let's go to the Hokage's office. Tsunade should be awake by now, so we don't have to wake her up ourselves."

Sakura allowed herself a small smile as Kakashi's visible eye crinkled. She supposed it was a smile, but no one could tell what lay underneath his mask.

Last time anyone tried to wake up the Fifth, they had been met with her mighty powerful fists and a "Get the hell out of my house!" Safe to say, she had been very grumpy that morning.

"Oh, and Pakkun," Kakashi said, "You're dismissed."

"Thank you Pakkun," said Sakura.

With those final words, the pair teleported into the Hokage's office, which at that moment was in a state of complete chaos.

----------------------------------Somewhere in the woods----------------------------------------

Sasuke had been running nonstop ever since he snuck out of sight of Konohoa's gates. He had to hurry. He was almost 2 hours behind schedule. He'd be lucky if he got to the Sound Village by midday.

But now, he had something else to worry about. He had been listening intently for a while now, and he could just make out 3 sets of running footsteps. One pair was his own so that left 2 other people. They were flanking him about 30 meters behind, one on the left and one on the right.

Sasuke stopped suddenly; then smirked when he heard 2 other footfalls after he had halted abruptly.

"Come out," he called, "I know you're there, both of you." He turned around and waited, but there was no answer.

"You're wasting my time," he called out again, "and you're only making this harder on yourselves." He slid 2 kunai out of his holster and counted, "One…"

…

"Two…"

…

"Three!"

There were suddenly 2 "poofs" and Sasuke's smirk returned. Before him stood 2 ninja, obviously Sound nin from the symbol on their headbands. One wore dark, round sunglasses and the Sound uniform. The other wore the Sound uniform pants but with a red tunic and a green sash.

"So, Orichimaru sent spies, huh?"

The one with sunglasses bowed his head and said, "Take no offense, Sasuke-sama. Orichimaru-sama sent us to watch over you, just in case you needed any help."

"Help as in follow me around and make sure I remain loyal to the Sound and that I complete my mission. I know better than 'help.' Like I would need help sneaking around the Village Guarded by Sleeping Dimwits."

"Of course, Sasuke-sama," spoke the man in the green sash, "it was just a precaution."

Sasuke swung the kunai around his index finger, trying to figure out who to kill first.

"If you want, sir, we can tell Orichimaru-sama that you completed your mission," said the man in the sunglasses.

'Guess I'll go for him first then,' thought Sasuke. He leapt forward so fast neither of the nins saw him. The kunai pierced the man with sunglasses in his heart, so he was killed instantly. Sasuke yanked out the kunai and turned in time to see the other man back away in fear. After all, this was the all powerful Sasuke Uchiha, second in command of Sound. Sasuke kicked him against a tree, and the man turned into a log.

'Substitution,' he thought, 'I knew it.'

He didn't bother activating his Sharingan. He wouldn't need it for something as simple as this. He could sense the man in the green sash running away, to his left.

Sasuke jumped from the ground and into the tall branches of a nearby tree. Now he was jumping from tree to tree. It was only a matter of seconds before he spotted the man sunning below him.

It was only a matter of seconds before the man, along with his green sash, was burned to a crisp using one of Sasuke's favorite fire jutsus.

He stared at the corpse a moment longer before returning to his journey. The later he arrived, the more suspicious Orichimaru would be. The more suspicious he was, the more he would be prepared, and Sasuke couldn't have that. No, not if he wanted to complete his mission.

There was a good chance Sasuke would die on this mission. If he died, he would never get another chance to kill Itachi or return home. "Home," he said it again, out loud this time. If he lived, he would return home and hopefully get another chance to kill Itachi.

But the odds were heavily against him.

'Sakura,' he thought, 'this is for you.'

His footfalls silenced as he halted in front of a river. All he had to do now was simple; there would be no more surprises.

Sasuke quickly refilled his canteen. He needed to follow the river with the current and he would reach the Hidden Sound Village. If he kept this pace up, he would be there before noon. But he needed to slow down a little bit before he got there to conserve energy. Hell knows he would need it then.

He paused one last time to look back at the dense forest. Beyond it was where Konohoa, Team 7, and hopefully his future were.

'Wish me luck.'

Page Count: 6

Word Count: 1,666


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, then it wouldn't be called Naruto. It'd be called Sakura or Sasuke.**

**Thanks to all my reviewers! Without you, the 2nd and 3rd chapter would not be here, and this would be a oneshot still.

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**

**Chapter 3**

"Why the hell was I woken up at 3 in the morning? It's my time off!"

"Calm down, Ino! It's very important, believe me!"

"This is such a drag."

"Shizune, hurry up with my coffee!"

"Right away, mam!"

"Is someone going to answer me?"

"Yawn… what time is it?"

"3:15 AM"

"Hey, someone wake Shikamaru up, I think he fell asleep."

"Shikamaru, wake up!"

"God Chouji, you didn't have to yell in my ear."

"Hokage, you better have a good reason for this!"

"Take your complaints to Naruto. He's the one that woke me up and called this meeting!"

"Naruto!" _all together now…_

"Troublesome…"

"Why the hell did you wake us up this early? This is our vacation!"

"Yeah! The festival is tomorrow, er…well today…tonight!"

"Why have you disturbed my sleep of beautifulness? How will I excel in youth and spirit if I do not get the sleep of beautifulness?"

"I'm sure you'll find a way, youthboy."

"Boy? I 'm not a boy! I am a very youthful man!"

"More specifically, a Eunich."

"Neji, how you say that about Lee?"

"It's early, Tenten."

"Um…please, quiet d-down."

"So answer me, dickhead! Why did you call us here?"

"Kiba, don't t-talk that way to N-Naruto-kun."

"Alright! Alright! I'll tell you! Just everybody settle down!"

"Why don't you settle down?"

"Hey Ino, you might want to wake up your teammate there."

"Yeah, some A-list team you got there, lazy-ass and dough-boy."

"Shut-up!"

No explanation got out, and as said before, the Hokage's office was in a complete state of chaos. All the shouting and yelling flew across the room so fast and, it was impossible to hear oneself think, which would be why no one was thinking and so the chaos continued.

Ino was about to strangle Kiba and Kiba was about to strangle Naruto and Naruto was about to use his Rasengan to shut everyone up and Hinata was about to faint and Tenten was about to strangle Neji and Neji was about to strangle Lee and Lee was about to go get some cucumber slices to put on his eyes to keep from getting circles of not-youth and Shino was about to go home and Tsunade was about to open her first bottle of sake for the day and Shizune was about to pull her hair out and Shikamaru was about to fall back to sleep and Chouji was about to pull out his spare bag of chips (for emergency use only) and well…you get the picture…it was pure chaos and discord.

Suddenly, there was a "poof" as 2 more people entered the crowded room. All heads turned towards the new occupants, Kakashi and Sakura.

Tsunade looked up from her sake cabinet and said, "You better start explaining, Kakashi."

The angry buzz of conflicting voices rose to a crescendo as everyone turned their attention to the Copy Ninja.

He spoke in a quiet, normal voice, as if he was commenting on the weather, "I'm sure you all remember Sasuke Uchiha."

And then there was silence…

------------------------------------------------------------------Somewhere Along the River------------------------------------------------------------------

How dare they mock him? He was a great Uchiha, and they were lower than dogs!

He forced himself to look away from the river and instead look at the path ahead. Then he heard another "splash!" and he felt his stomach growl again. 'Damn it!'

Sasuke hadn't eaten since lunch the day before; so after running so much, it was only natural for him to be hungry.

"Splash!" 'No! No! No! Don't look!'

He glanced over in time to see yet another fish jump out of the water and flop back in. 'Damn it!' They were mocking him!

'Concentrate on the mission! Don't think about the fish! The meaty, juicy, delicious fish! They're practically jumping out of the water for me! I should—No! No! No! I don't have the time!'

"Splash!" 'Well, it'll only take maybe a half hour, 20 minutes if I hurry.'

'No, no. I've wasted too much time already. Why the hell did I spend 2 hours outside her window? I was in the damn bush too!'

'She'd want me to eat it…'

'Shut the hell up!'

'…'

'Did I just tell myself to shut up? Hn…I'm going crazy. I've been in the Sound too long. The sooner I kill Orichimaru, the better.'

'Come on, just eat one.'

'What the hell? I'm argueing with my self!'

'No, you're arguing with the smart part of your brain.'

'Are you calling my side dumb?'

'No, it's just I've made all the smart decisions is all.'

'Oh really…'

'Yes. In fact, I was the part that decided not to kill Sakura.'

'Were you the part that decided I had to kill Orichimaru?'

'Yes…'

'…asshole'

…

…

'Hn.'

'Think about it. Eat now, and you'll have more energy to fight later. Plus, you rest awhile.'

'…Hn…'

'It's bad to fight on an empty stomach! Just one fish!'

'Aa…'

--------------------------------------------------------Back at the Hokage's Office--------------------------------------------------------------

"Alright, now that everyone knows what has to be done, let's move on. I want all Anbu members to step forward," commanded Tsunade.

Shikamaru, Naruto, Neji, Shino, Chouji, Kiba, Tenten, and Lee all stepped forward.

"Let's see…Shikamaru, I'm appointing you team captain. Naruto will be your co-captain.

"Hai, Tsunade-sama," answered Shikamaru.

Tsunade then turned to Naruto, who was staring out the window, a frown on his face and his features carrying a serious tone. No doubt he was thinking about Sasuke.

"Naruto?"

In a flash his face brightened and his usual grin appeared. "You know I'm in, Tsunade-baa-chan!"

"Right," she said. 'That didn't last long. But I know he was thinking hard and serious, and he has more than enough reason to be.'

"Kiba," she spoke again, "You'll need Akamaru to track down the Uchiha. If he's as fast as we think he is, he's gotten too far away already to sense his chakra."

"How long ago was he here?" asked Neji.

"About an hour ago now," answered Kakashi.

"Will you be joining us on this mission?"

"Hai," Kakashi answered.

Tsunade looked at the team she had assembled. "Now all we need are a few medics…Sakura?"

"Of course, Tsunade-shishou."

Tsunade searched the room with her eyes once more. She needed one more medic nin. Her eyes stopped on the Hyuga heiress.

"Hinata, how about you?"

"B-But Hokage-sama, I'm only a chuunin," she answered.

Tsunade scoffed, "Let's see. You're a medic, you've got the Bakuyan, and you're already awake. I think you're qualified."

"A-alright."

Tsunade turned again to Shikamaru, "Okay, now that that's settled, the—"

"Hey wait," said Ino, "I want to go too."

Tsunade sighed. 'Should I let Ino on the mission? I mean, it's only fair since I put Hinata on the mission. I guess Shikamaru's smart enough. Since Ino's only a chuunin, he'd be sure to team her with someone strong.'

"Fine," she stated before pouring herself a cup of sake. "Shikamaru, I'm entrusting you with the rest. Team, give it your best."

"Troublesome," he mumbled.

"Alright Shikamaru," exclaimed Naruto, "What's the plan?"

"Meet me at the north gate as fast as you can. Try to be there in less than 20 minutes. We'll track him from there. Be wide awake and sharp; we don't know what the Uchiha is capable of."

"Hai," they all answered. There were 11 "poofs" and all who were left in the room were Tsunade, Shizune, and Sakura.

"Shizune," Tsunade asked, "would you get me one of those muffins from that market down the street? I think they're open 24 hours."

"Of course," she replied before leaving to get Tsunade's breakfast.

Now the Hokage turned to Sakura. Sakura had been about to leave with the others until Tsunade motioned for her to stay. "You wanted to speak with me?" she asked.

"Yes, Sakura. I was just wandering if you were okay."

"I'm fine, but thanks for asking."

"Are you sure you can handle this mission? It's perfectly understandable if you aren't up to it."

"Don't worry, Tsunade-shishou, I'll be okay."

"You do understand, if he doesn't cooperate, you will have to fight him. If your team can't subdue him; it is their job to kill him. It's yours too. After all, he is a missing nin and an S-class criminal."

"…"

"Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal clear."

"Good, I suggest you prepare for your mission."

"One more thing, Tsunade-shishou."

"Yes, what is it?" she asked.

"If he comes quietly, would it lessen his punishment?"

"Yes."

"Like what?"

"Sakura, this is a gray area. The Council would decide his punishment. I only have so much input. But if he returned willingly, it would lighten his punishment."

"And what if he was forced to come back?"

"Oh Sakura…"

"Tell me!"

"I'm guessing a life sentence…or an execution. It all depends on how cooperative he is with us."

"Oh…I remember back on my first day as a genin…our punishment for not working together was that we had to skip lunch…"

"I'm afraid it's not that simple."

"It really isn't…"

Tsunade watched her apprentice. She hardly ever saw her this way, only when it came to Sasuke, so sad, so serious, but so determined.

"I'm going to go get ready for my mission now, Tsunade-shishou. Wish me luck!"

"Make me proud, Sakura!"

"Ja ne!" There was another "poof" and she was gone as well. Tsunade leaned back and gulped sake out of the bottle. The seriousness of the situation was getting to her. 'Where's Jiraiya when I need him? He used to always cheer me up whenever I was like this…"

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**Yay! Another chapter complete! I wrote this whole thing while listening to Hawthorne Heights "If Only You Were Lonely" cd. It's like inspiration music or something. I figure this story will have about 8 chapters, give or take.**

**Ahem, if you were confused in the first part of the story, then I did my job. I figure it went along with the whole chaos theme. I love going back through there and trying to figure out who said what. Some of them, I can't even remeber. But I think I gave enough clues.**

**One more thing, I'm going to camp for the next two weeks. This isn't a camp where they have compter labs or anything. It's the kind that have cabins and campfires and lakes and stuff. Yay! I can't water ski very good, but I love trying. Anyway, I won't be able to update except on next Saturday (I think), that's when they let us email our parents or whoever we want to email. I'll update then with this cd that I loaded the chapters onto.**

**Please review. It may seem troublesome, but it makes my day.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not nor will I ever own Naruto or any of its characters.**

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**Not So Simple After All**

**Chapter 4**

Okay, so he hadn't eaten a fish, he'd eaten 2. So much for eating light…

Sasuke stood up and stretched. At least he wouldn't be hungry for a while. He kicked some dirt on the fire so it went out. With the fire out, he found himself in almost complete darkness. If it wasn't for the moon and stars, he wouldn't be able to see a thing.

He pulled his backpack onto his shoulders and continued on his way to the Hidden Sound Village.

He'd been running for about an hour now. All the while he was forming a battle strategy to defeat Orichimaru. He realized he would need to use the Cursed Seal; it was a necessary whether he like it or not.

The Sound nin and villagers would be a much easier problem to deal with. They would never defy him; they were too afraid. Obviously, they had heard about he could destroy a village in one afternoon. He had done it before, what was stopping him from doing it again?

Sasuke had to be careful with his chidori. He could only use it when he knew Orichimaru couldn't dodge or block his attack. Wasting his chidori could cost him his life. For his own safety, Sasuke was only supposed to use it twice in a battle. The most he ever used it in a single battle was 4 times. After words, he had to be rushed to the emergency room in the Sound Hospital, which wasn't much of a hospital.

He checked his watch. It was almost 5:00 AM. That left about 7 more hours of running.

How could he have the energy to fight after running 7 more hours? It was impossible.

Another problem presented itself. Sure, the Sound nin were too afraid to fight him, but what about Kabuto?

Kabuto was an ambitious, brown-nosing pest. The medic nin had never gotten over how Orichimaru appointed Sasuke second-in-command and pushed Kabuto down to third. Since then, Kabuto had used every opportunity he had to make Sasuke appear inferior. As if anyone cared about a third-in-command.

Pest as he was, he was one of the few Sound nin who would stand up to Sasuke. Although Sasuke could beat him, it would be tougher after running so long. And then after running and fighting Kabuto…well, Sasuke could picture himself walking into Orichimaru's office without enough chakra to hit him.

This had to be the most impossible thing he ever had to do, besides killing his brother, that is. It hadn't seemed so impossible back when he first decided it…back in Sakura's room, leaning over her sleeping form…

"_See you soon, Sakura…"_ 'Yeah right.'

He had to find a way to conserve chakra. An idea formed in his mind. Sure, it would cost him chakra, but in the end, it would save him much more.

Sasuke slowly pulled out a very familiar scroll. 'Why didn't I think of this before?'

This way, he would get there much faster, using less chakra, and maybe a way of killing Kabuto without having to fight him. The only downside was that it would definitely raise suspicion.

Too late, there was no turning back now…

----------------------------------------------------------Somewhere Along Sasuke's Trail----------------------------------------------------------------------

"Are you sure he killed them?" asked Kiba.

"Well, let's see," said Sakura, "Both their bodies were found on his trail. They must have been killed close to the time he came through this area. And oh yeah, one of them was burned to death. It's pretty clear he killed them."

"Yes," said Kakashi, "but why would Sasuke kill other Sound nin? He'd be killing his own shinobi."

"Indeed," grunted Neji.

Naruto said, "Let's keep moving. We still have to catch up to him, remember?"

"O-Of course," said Hinata. She averted her gaze from the corpse before her. The smell enough made her head spin and her stomach churn.

"The man never stood a chance," said Tenten.

Hinata glanced one more time at the charred corpse. Oh no… right when Tenten shone the flashlight on his face. She felt so dizzy and the colors blurred and the darkness grew…

"Hinata? Are you okay?" asked Naruto.

And then the ground rushed up to meet her.

"Wo, what happened to Hinata?" asked Kiba as Naruto quickly caught her inches before her face hit the ground.

"I guess the sight of the body got to her," answered Sakura.

"Yeah, but she's a medic nin, she should be used to stuff like this by now."

"Well, not this bad. And the smell isn't helping either," said Sakura.

"She's coming around," Naruto stated.

Hinata slowly opened her eyes. They widened in shock when she realized it was Naruto who was holding her. "N-Naruto-kun!"

"Are you alright, Hinata? You had us worried there for a sec," he said.

"I'm f-f-fine. Thank y-you."

'Poor girl,' Sakura thought, 'Naruto's got her so shook up now. He's so dense. How could he not realize how Hinata is like, in love with him? Everyone else does.'

Naruto and Hinata stood up and got ready to start moving again with the rest of the group. As Hinata drank some water from her canteen, she inwardly thanked the darkness for hiding the blood boiling in her cheeks.

Shikamaru muttered something about "troublesome" before calling out, "Everyone ready? Right, let's move!"

Sakura glanced around. Sure, these were some of Konohoa's best, but she knew Sasuke would be moving much faster. They would never catch up to him at this rate.

She sighed as they started running again, Akamaru and Kiba in the lead. No one was moving fast enough! She wanted to do something about it, she really did, but…she hadn't felt this helpless in a long time.

Sakura looked at the man running a few feet to her right, Naruto. He could run much faster that this using the Kyubi's power. Maybe he could move ahead of the group. NO! NO! NO! Naruto wasn't supposed to unleash the Kyubi; it was unpredictable and destructive and put Naruto in danger. How could she even think like that?

Okay, she would just have to think of another plan, one without Naruto growing demonic fox tails.

'Uh…this is hopeless…Sasuke-kun, please come home…'

--------------------------------------------------------------------Following the River With Sasuke------------------------------------------------------------------

He felt the wind on his face; it felt good. Running all the time to the Sound Village would have been tiring. He was glad he chose a different way to travel.

The sun was beginning to rise in the east. He had thought about taking a nap before he got there, but decided against it. He needed to be more alert than that. So he settled for just laying down, not sleeping, just relaxing. It was good to rest before he got there.

He placed his hands behind his head and used them as a pillow. Taking a rest would greatly increase his chances of beating Orichimaru. If not beat him, at least give him a decent fight.

But Sasuke wouldn't settle for being a decent opponent, he wanted to be Orichimaru's nightmare, the person he cursed with his dying breath, his killer…

So basically, Sasuke really wanted to kill him. It could not be any plainer than that.

"We're halfway there, Sasuke-sama," hissed Dokubutsu, Sasuke's summoning.

This was his smart way to travel, riding on the head of a giant serpent. Dokubutsu was Sasuke's personal summoning, his first big serpent. He wasn't the biggest or the most poisoness or the fastest snake, but he was up there. He was pretty powerful still. When Sasuke summoned a snake, it was most likely Dokubutsu.

Sasuke had used his summoning jutsu to summon 2 snakes, actually, Dokubutsu and a much smaller snake. The smaller one would be essential in killing Kabuto.

Though right now, Sasuke didn't know where it was. It had the ability to travel underground, which was exactly what it was doing now.

Sasuke let the wind blow around his raven hair as he looked up to the sky. The sun was just now over the horizon.

Then he closed his eyes. He pictured Sakura in his mind. She was still snuggled up in her blankets, just like he left her. She was sleeping peacefully.

And then the sunlight beamed in through her window and illuminated her dark room. Sakura mumbled something under her breath before turning over and pulling the blanket over her head.

Slowly, Sasuke entered the room, through the door this time. Leaning over her bed, he was in the same position he was the night before. His shadow spread over her, filtering out the light that would have woken her. He pulled the blanket out and tucked it under her chin, just like how he did before.

He would let her sleep in. Maybe she was even dreaming about him…a smile playing across her face…

But the real Sakura, at that exact moment, had a deep frown etched on her face…

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**Dokubutsu-poison**

**Can anyone else tell what's going to happen next? My friend took one look at this and knew exactly what is going to happen. **

**Yay! Another chapter complete! I listened to the Red Hot Chili Peppers while writing this. I now know all the words to Dani California. Kinda scary.**

**AttentionDo any of you know a site I could got to to find jutsus I can use? I'm writing a battle scene for chapters 6 and 7, and I need more jutsus. Or if you have a favorite, just tell me the name and description of the jutsu in a review. I will see if I can use it. Specifically, I am looking for a hurricane or tsunami jutsu (you'll see why later). Really, if you know of a good website, please tell me. Much appreciated!**

**Expect the next chapter on Friday or Saturday. I still have one week of camp left. **

**Thank you to all of my reviewers. **

**Ahem, I love the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I love reviews just as much. So review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't even own the computer I'm typing on. It's my uncle's...

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**Not So Simple After All**

**Chapter 5**

"What the hell is this?" asked Naruto.

Sakura's frown only deepened as she pondered the subject. He was pointing at the incredibly large…something… It resembled a large dirt path…sort of. The group had been following Sasuke's trail when they stumbled upon it.

"This day is full of surprises, eh?" said Kakashi. Another surprise, he seemed to be smiling underneath his mask.

"Well," Shikamaru said, observing the tracks, "whatever made this must have been pretty heavy."

"But why would it suddenly appear here?" inquired Ino.

"It's pretty obvious it was Sasuke's doing. But what exactly was he doing?" asked Tenten.

"Who cares?" said Kiba, "All Sasuke did was make the trail easier to follow."

"Sasuke-teme would be more careful than that. He's not stupid. Maybe he wants us to follow," said Naruto.

"It could just as well as be a trap," replied Shikamaru.

Hinata activated her Bakuyan and said, "It goes on f-for miles. I can't see the end. I don't see a-any traps either."

"It's so strange-looking," said Tenten. She glanced at the pink-haired medic, who was not looking at the trail, but instead off into the distance, at the sunrise. "What do you think, Sakura?"

"I think…I think I know what it is…"

"It's pretty obvious," said Neji.

"How is this thing obvious?" asked Tenten.

"It just is," he replied, "to people with higher intelligence."

Tenten was just getting ready to start another fight with the not-at-all-humble Hyuga when Lee intervened.

"Please, stop arguing my friends! It will take a toll on your precious youth and give you feet of crow and lines or worry!"

"Lines of worry?" asked Ino.

"He means wrinkles," answered Neji, a glare on his face.

"Let's stick to figuring out what this is," said Shikamaru, "so troublesome…"

"It's a snake trail," said Sakura," a very large serpent. See how the trail swerves; that's because the snake's tail slithers from left to right."

"Oh, I get it! Nice job, Sakura-chan!" yelled Naruto while giving her a congratulatory pat on the back. "You always were the smart one!"

"I know."

"It only makes sense that Sasuke summons snakes, seeing as he's the apprentice of Orichimaru," said Kakashi.

"Damn Snake sannin," mumbled Chouji. He had used this short rest to continue munching on his bag of chips.

"Damn the Uchiha for running to the damn Snake sannin for power," said Kiba, who happened to be standing close enough to hear Chouji's curse.

Sakura wanted to yell and scream at him, "It's not Sasuke-kun's fault!" or "Don't talk about Sasuke-kun like that!" She wanted to, but she didn't.

"Give it up," said inner Sakura, "It is his fault. It was his own choice. He wanted to be taught by Orichimaru."

'Shut up!' thought Sakura.

"Face it, he betrayed us, Team 7, and Konohoa."

'…'

"He doesn't care about anything but revenge."

'That's not true!'

"Yes it is, and we both know it."

It was Sasuke's fault, that was the truth. The truth can hurt like hell.

Lee looked over at Sakura. He was tempted to also congratulate her on solving the mystery of the mysterious trail…but the look on her face…grinding her teeth…fist clenched…something told him to wait till later.

'He's coming back. He told me he would,' thought Sakura.

"You don't know that. You were asleep the whole time. For all you know, he might not have said anything at all," said inner Sakura.

'No, I know he said something. I know he did.'

"Tell me, what exactly did he say then? Go through it again."

'Okay, first, he promised he'd come back…'

"What do you think he's going to do when he comes back? Repent and become a model shinobi? No, he's going to wipe us all out and burn the city to the ground!" yelled inner Sakura.

'Why do you think that?' asked Sakura.

"Because, didn't you hear about all those reports about your dear Sasuke-kun massacring entire villages? Hm? No? Well, I sure did."

'He wouldn't do that…besides, why would he tell me?'

"Maybe he wanted to warn you so you could warn the village! Think about it, Sasuke always loved challenges, always testing to see if he was the best he could be back in our genin days."

'I don't believe you!'

"Whatever, what did he say next?"

'Well,' thought Sakura, 'he also told me he had a mission.'

Inner Sakura laughed maniacally before replying, "Okay, that could only mean either of 2 things."

'What?'

"He's probably talking about his big ambition to kill Itachi. I mean, he was so

obsessed over him, even as much as you were obsessed about him. It was all he ever talked about. Itachi! Itachi! Itachi! God, that got so frustrating fast."

'That would make sense. It's actually plausible. What's your other theory?' asked Sakura.

"Simple," replied inner Sakura, "his mission is to destroy Konohoa. Eliminating his hometown would mean eliminating whatever's left of his heart. That way, he would no weaknesses."

'Would you shut up about that! I've had enough!'

"Ooh…touchy…Did I hurt little Sakura's feelings?"

Both Sakuras were interrupted when Shikamaru called out, "Alright, let's go."

'Oh yeah,' Sakura thought, 'I'm still on a mission. And I'll prove that Sasuke isn't out to destroy Konohoa. I'll bring him home.'

Inner Sakura piped up, "So he can be executed. Some friend you are."

'Shut. Up.'

Just then the team began to run again, following the snake's trail to wherever it led.

"We'll continue this conversation later."

---------------------------------------------------------------Somewhere On Top of a Snake's Head----------------------------------------------------------------

It didn't surprise him, not at all. Not even the tiniest bit. He was, after all, the Uchiha genius.

So when Kabuto's chakra came into Sasuke's range; he didn't bother to acknowledge it. Obviously, Kabuto was about a mile outside of the Hidden Sound Village. He was waiting for Sasuke to come. Why? He'd find out soon enough.

Sasuke and Dokubutsu were approaching him Kabuto fast. In fact, Sasuke's sharp eyes could already see a dot of purple that was constantly growing bigger. That dot, which happened to be Kabuto, had found a very comfortable spot perched on a tree and was now waiting for the Uchiha.

Kabuto jumped down from the tree once Sasuke was close enough. Sasuke took notice immediately of how Kabuto carried both his medical and weapons pouches. _He was expecting something…_

"Kabuto," Sasuke muttered, trying to figure out where his secret underground snake was at that moment.

"Sasuke-san," said Kabuto, bowing his head. "Orichimaru-sama sent me to check on you, to see if you required assistance." His last sentence carried a tone that Sasuke recognized as spite.

"You mean like those 2 morons he sent after me earlier."

"Medical assistance," replied Kabuto through gritted teeth, "he thought since you were riding a snake, you were incapacitated and couldn't walk. I see you are fine. Orichimaru-sama will be happy to hear that."

"And why did you bring your weapons pouch?"

"Just in case I encountered an enemy."

"You mean, like me?" Sasuke then untied his Sound headband and tossed it to Kabuto who stood there glaring back.

"So you're betraying the Sound."

"Hai."

"I knew you would eventually. Why no one else saw this coming is a miracle. You don't deserve to be here, especially second-in-command!"

"Hn."

"How dare you betray Orichimaru-sama!"

"Whatever."

"I will smite you in his honor," Kabuto shouted as he attempted to move into a fighting stance, but found he could not move. Then he tried to grab some weapons from his pouch, but he could not move his hand either.

"What the—"

Sasuke cut him off. "When I threw the headband, I attached my chakra strings to you. Struggle all you want, you won't be able to move."

Suddenly there was a 'poof' and Sasuke's headband transformed into a snake. The snake zoomed out of Kabuto's hand and bit him just above the left collar bone. He cried out and toppled to the ground as Sasuke released his chakra strings.

"Wow," said Sasuke, "that was easy."

"What's happening?" coughed Kabuto.

"It's a poison, actually. It causes the heart to stop beating. Since he bit you so close to the heart, you'll die in less than 30 seconds."

"…You…"

This time, Sasuke took out his real headband and dropped it a few inches in front of Kabuto, who was sprawled on the ground in pain.

"…bastard…"

Sasuke said, "Give this Orichimaru for me. You'll be seeing him soon."

Sasuke then dismissed the small snake and Dokubutsu. Then, continuing on his way to Sound, he once again went over his battle plan to defeat Orichimaru.

_Ready or not, here I come..._

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**Okay, there you go. My fifth chapter. Does anyone else feel that Kabuto died a pathetic death? I mean, by all means, I'm glad I killed him off quickly, but I don't think Kabuto would die that easily. Whatever... this is my story.**

**Also, I got back from camp this morning. I was so tired. After not sleeping in my own room for 2 weeks, it feels great to be home. Plus, I get to update more often (if I feel like it). I could just stop updating for like 3 weeks and stress myself and probably someone else out. I hate when people don't update though, so I won't.**

**Special thanks to: kawaii chibi sasuke luver You were the only reviewer who actually told me where to find more jutsus. I needed that. Without it, I wouldn't be able to write chapters 6 or 7, so you helped me out alot. Gracias mucho!**

**I'm in the middle of writing chapter 6, so expect an update by like Monday or something. **

**Review. It lets me know people are waiting on my story, which in turn inspires me to write faster, I swear. Plus, I like to know what you think of my work. If you like it, good. If you don't like it, that's okay too. But you have to tell me what you don't like. Else it's not going to be improved upon. Review, and be honest. Constructive cricism is welcome.**

**artist inthe closet needs to catch up on lost sleep.Ja ne! **


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I do own this story. **

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**Not So Simple After All**

**Chapter 6**

Sasuke strode through the Sound Village, a triumphant smirk plastered on his face. The Sound nin were all too afraid to oppose him, just as he thought. They wouldn't even try to stop him. The few that did were quickly dealt with.

He watched smugly as they hid in their houses. Did they not know that they would burn inside there? The Sound Village had been built like a compound; so basically, every house that was side by side shared a wall and part of the roof. Since Sasuke had used his Katon: Housenka no Jutsu (Fire Element: Phoenix Flower) on every few houses he saw; even the ones that weren't on fire then would burn down with the other houses. It reminded him vaguely of dominoes, or a chain reaction. The person who designed the Sound Village's layout must have been a complete idiot.

Sasuke now stood before Orochimaru's tower, the stronghold of the Sound. It appeared to be empty. Orochimaru's room was at the very top. All the rest were reserved for others. Sasuke had one on the 8th floor, but he never spent much time there. There were also arsenals, other offices, meeting rooms, and a few special training rooms.

As he ascended the stairs, he came to the conclusion: No one was in the tower except two people. One, being himself, and the other was on the top level.

Finally, Sasuke reached the final door. It was already open for him. He smirked as he stepped into the room he knew only too well. This was Orochimaru's office, and the term "office" is used loosely. It didn't have a desk, pens, scrolls, documentation, or any usual office supplies. It was cold and dark in the room. The only window had the curtains drawn, so the only light came from the open doorway behind him. And even that was dim. The only objects in the room were Orochimaru's throne and a Sound Tapestry behind it. On this simple tapestry was the Sound symbol. On the throne was Orochimaru.

"Orochimaru," said Sasuke, a smirk still evident on his face. His fingers were itching to grab a kunai and begin the battle.

"Sasuke-kun," he answered, "How could you?" Obviously, word had reached Orochimaru already that Sasuke had betrayed the village.

"Well," Sasuke stated, "first you gather a balance of spiritual and physical chakra in your stomach. Then you form the hand seals and—"

"You ungrateful brat!"

Sasuke could just make out Orochimaru as he stood up in a fighting stance. He quickly activated his deadly Sharingan.

Let the battle commence.

It was barley visible at first, but now he could clearly make it out, at least with his Bakuyan. He sped up his pace so he came shoulder to shoulder with Shikamaru. He told him, "There's something up ahead."

"What?"

"Smoke. And a lot of it."

"How far ahead is it?"

"About a couple hours worth of distance. It's straight ahead; so it might be the Sound Village."

"Troublesome…so now the village is on fire…why?"

"You expect me to know that?"

"This better mean less work for me. Neji, relay the news to everyone else on our team. They'll need to know so they can know what to expect when we get there."

"Hai," Neji answered before speeding off.

Shikamaru glanced at his watch. It was only a little after 10:30 a.m. They had been running for quite a few hours now…'What a drag…'

A little behind him was Kakashi, who had just heard the message. 'One surprise after another…What was Sasuke doing now? Was it even Sasuke's doing? There was no way to tell yet, really.'

A flash of pink caught his eye. It sped up until it was in stride with Naruto. Apparently, Sakura had heard about the smoke too.

Sasuke coughed as once again Orochimaru socked him in the stomach. 'Damn it!' The Snake sannin seemed to be hitting his target twice as much as Sasuke was hitting his. He didn't show signs of stopping soon, either.

Sasuke dodged another punch as he launched one of his own. Yes! It landed right in Orochimaru's face!...which then turned to mud…'Damn it! Substitution…'

Darkness shrouded Sasuke again in the tenses atmosphere. 'Now where is he?' His question was soon answered as he felt a breath of wind on his back. Jumping to the side, he heard the 'whoosh' of a katana to his left.

His hands began forming the seals for a fire jutsu just as Orochimaru started towards him again with his katana.

Katon: Goukaryuu no Jutsu (Fire Element: Grand Fireball)

Instantly, fire filled up the chamber. For all the chakra his attack was worth, it appeared Orochimaru had once again evaded it. He saw Orochimaru just in time charging at him with his katana again. 'I can't hit him!'

Sasuke drew his own katana and clashed it against his opponents. 'Maybe a little light would help.' His last fire jutsu had left the Sound tapestry consumed in fire; it and the doorway were the only light sources. Neither was enough.

Sasuke ducked as Orochimaru swung his blade around full force. He attempted to stab Orochimaru's leg, but just then Orochimaru jumped back. But not before the Uchiha planted some explosive tags on his torso.

Sasuke then ran a half circle around Orochimaru and charged with his katana. Orochimaru tried to move out of the way but just then the tags exploded and he was thrown backwards. Sasuke took this opportunity to ram his blade into his back. Orochimaru grunted before he sank to the ground another puddle of mud. 'Damn it! Substitution again! Did I get him or not?'

In the far corner of the room stood Orochimaru, clutching his abdomen. Since when did the Uchiha get so fast? "Oh Sasuke-kun," he called, "I was wondering about your trip to Konohoa. Tell me, how did things go?"

He dodged a launch of shuriken as he took a few more steps towards Sasuke. "I'm guessing you did not obtain the Mangekyou during your stay? Otherwise, you would have used it on me already…"

He paused for a second; he sensed Sasuke was building up his chakra up for another attack. "You'll need it to defeat Itachi. You'll need it to defeat me."

Orochimaru teleported behind Sasuke and rammed his blade into his back to make up for earlier. Sasuke then 'poofed' in to a log…with another explosive tag on it…

This time the explosion took out part of the wall. Orochimaru's eyes locked on the scene taking place outside. The Sound Village was engulfed in flames. Glancing down, he noticed the fire had even reached his tower and was not steadily climbing upwards. Ten minutes, give or take, and the whole tower would be on fire!

He had been going easy on Sasuke when he started; he did, after all, need his body for the transfer. Now, it didn't matter what condition it was in, Kabuto could always heal him later. "Alright, Uchiha, time to get serious!"

"Hey Sakura-chan, did you hear that? The Sound Village is on fire!" said Naruto.

"It might not even be the Sound Village, Naruto," answered Sakura.

"Yeah, but if it is…do you think it was the teme? He was always into fire jutsus."

"I don't know, but I think so. I just don't get why he would burn down his own village. Do you think he's alright?"

"What do you mean by 'alright?'"

"Well, remember when he was using the Cursed Seal?"

"Yeah…"

"He was never himself at that point. He was vicious and mean and…you get it?"

"I see what you're saying, Sakura-chan. The seal might have forced him to go crazy. I mean, I thought he was crazy in our last battle."

"That's what worries me…"

"It'll be alright, I promise! We'll get him back fine…or as sane as possible. I'm willing to do whatever it takes!"

"Good, because I have an idea, and I need your help."

"Sure thing, Sakura-chan!"

"Okay, listen up…I want you to go ahead of the group. You're faster than all of us, so it should be no problem. You can't get lost, the trail is the side of a road."

"What am I supposed to do though?"

"Make your way to the Sound Village. Once you get there, I want you to find Sasuke-kun. We have to find out what he's up to. I don't recommend going into a headlong battle without us, so try not to cause a commotion."

"Okay…"

"Find out what he's doing and radio it back to me. You know, with those earpiece things and mini-microphone."

"Do I fight him?"

"If you have to, I just don't want the whole village after you. So try to keep it discreet. More importantly, if Orochimaru's there, wait till we get there. I don't want you fighting him alone."

"What's the point of all this?"

"Our group is moving too slow. Sasuke-kun would already be there because he's riding that serpent. I'm afraid we won't get there fast enough, but you could. Imagine if we got there too late, we could miss our chance of bringing him home."

"Alright, I'll do it for you, Sakura-chan!"

With that, Naruto raced up to Shikamaru. They exchanged a few words before Naruto raced off, disappearing into the distance. Man, he was fast…but was he fast enough? Sasuke could be dead before he even got there…not that the group had any idea that Sasuke and Orochimaru at that moment were locked in a heated battle…though Kakashi suspected something…and Sakura suspected worse…

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**Whew! I was afraid I would never finish that chapter. I mean, I did, but...it was sitting on my desk all weekend and I just would not touch it. I got my first case of writer's block during the battle scene, which would explain why it's such a lame battle so far. I honestly cannot write battle scenes, but I can try. I'll remember to not have battles in my next fic, which I have already started. Cannot think of a damn name though. I found a lot of jutsus, I just don't know how to work them into the battle. I'll try harder next time. I wrotemost of this last night. If you are unsatisfied with this chapter, so am I.**

**Oh yeah, in the next chapter, expect less Sakura. I'm focusing on Sasuke, Oro, and Naruto, since they will be where all the action is. I had a serious need to kill Orochimaru right off, I was feeling really lazy right then. But I already gave Kabuto a pathetic death, I can't possibly give Oro one too. **

**I'm not sure when my next update will be, but it will be less than a week...I hope.**

**I cannot thank my reviewers enough! I don't think I would have crammed a chapter in last night if I hadn't read your reviews!**

**Now, review again. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. (not really) but it does help me write (as proof of last night)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, Sasuke and Sakura would have gotten together a long time ago...too bad.

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**Not So Simple After All**

**Chapter 7**

Sasuke felt his strength waver as he once again dodged Orochimaru's attack. And once again the Cursed Seal throbbed painfully.

He'd been trying not to use the seal during the fight, but now…that theory just wasn't possible anymore. Of course, he didn't really believe he could pull that off in the first place, but he still found it infuriating at how much he depended on that damn seal.

It was like Orochimaru had been playing with him before. One minute, the fight seemed to be evenly matched. The next, well…the odds were similar to David and Goliath…

He ducked as another punch as the air whooshed over his head and he rolled to the side as Orochimaru tried to knee him in the face.

It was attack after attack, and Sasuke was too busy evading them to launch one of his own. Every few moves Orochimaru would get a good hit, Sasuke would try to counter it, but then he would have to ditch that cause to block another onslaught.

Sasuke put his hands together and formed a seal, ready to attack. But once again, it was foiled as he moved to dodge another one of Orochimaru's punches. Just then his arm stretched around behind him and pushed him forward into Orochimaru's katana, which he seemed to have whipped out of nowhere. There was a "poof" and Sasuke disappeared in a puff of smoke. It had been a clone. So, where was the real Sasuke if—

"Katon: Ryuuka no Jutsu!" (Fire Element: Dragon Fire Technique)

It had been his father's favorite jutsu, and one that Sasuke had wanted to learn ever since he was a little boy. He even had the seals for it memorized long before he had enough power and chakra to pull it off.

The attack hit directly on target. Finally, after all that waiting and planning to get it just right, where Sasuke had an opening and Orochimaru wouldn't have enough time to move out of the way, it had been accomplished.

Waiting for the smoke to clear, Sasuke began planning his next attack. He quickly made another clone. The clone then charged in the smoke with his katana drawn.

But when the smoke started to clear, another problem came into view. Fire was entering the room. It was around the corners and edges and spreading inwards. The fire would consume the room in a few minutes. This could work to an advantage…

Now the smoke was clear. The Snake sannin had shed his skin and healed himself. Sasuke's clone had apparently already been wiped out. He was nowhere to be seen.

Sasuke could feel the heat of the flames at his back. He had to get out of the corner or he would be trapped. He began to charge again; maybe he could win if he forced Orochimaru in the flames.

And that's just when he felt his Sharingan falter and the Cursed Seal erupt over his body. He would have to hurry up. Orochimaru's arms were stretching at an amazing length. It was one of his favorite techniques.

Ducking and weaving he almost made it to Orochimaru, almost. Sasuke felt the Snake sannin's hands wrap around his ankles and bring him to the floor.

Sasuke grunted as the Cursed Seal seared across his flesh. Looking back up, he saw that Orochimaru had disappeared, but there was still something holding his ankles together. It was chakra strings, and attached to them was an explosive tag!

Quickly utilizing a replacement jutsu, he escaped just in time. But now he had other dilemmas. He didn't know where Orochimaru was. His stab wounds and bruises ached. The only thing keeping his Sharingan activated was the Cursed Seal. And to top it off, he had to think of a new plan.

On his way to Sound, he had been carefully laying out his battle strategy. Majority of the strategy included surprising Orochimaru. Now that he had lost the element of surprise, it made all that scheming about as valuable as Sasuke was talkative. Useless is what it was, perfectly useless.

Suddenly, part of the roof caved in. 'Damn it!' Now he would really have to hurry. He sensed Orochimaru's presence behind him, gathering up his chakra.

"Kusanagi no Tsurugi: Kuu no Tachi!" (Kusanagi Sword: Long Sword of the Heavens)

Sasuke used all the speed he could muster to scramble away before Orochimaru brought the sword down. Hiding behind Orochimaru's throne, Sasuke prayed for a little more time. He could pull out his own Kusanagi sword, but it still wouldn't match up to Orochimaru's. Oh well, it was worth a try. Maybe he could even combine it with chidori later, once he got a good shot.

An idea suddenly popped into the Uchiha's mind, a new plan. He carefully planted a few traps around the throne and surrounding areas. He could feel Orochimaru's presence nearing him again. Still, a smirk appeared on his face as he prepared himself to summon his own Kusanagi sword.

-------------------------------------------------------------Moving Too Fast to Name a Specific Location------------------------------------------------------------------------

Already Naruto could feel the Kyubi's chakra starting to churn and circulate through his body. He was using it to propel himself as fast as he could. Running at these high rates didn't even allow his eyes to catch up; so the only way Naruto knew where he was going was the blue blur of the river in the corner of his vision and the rough feel of compacted dirt of the snake trail beneath his feet.

Well, whatever Sasuke was going, Naruto was catching up fast. Running as fast as he could, Naruto would be invisible to naked eye, not that anybody was watching him. The whole area seemed to be deserted. Naruto hadn't sensed anyone's chakra except his teammates' chakra which was slowly fading away out of his range as he sped forward.

Suddenly, a mass of chakra came into range. Naruto was sure he was now nearing the Hidden Sound Village. He depicted Sasuke's familiar chakra and Orochimaru's chakra. He was too far away to be sure, but it seemed as though Sasuke's chakra had already been consumed by the Cursed Seal's chakra. He was battling someone.

Pumping more chakra into his legs and feet, he eased the burn in his muscles. They were on fire. He arched his back and tried to run faster. The Kyubi was unsettling itself inside him; aroused by the amount of chakra Naruto was using. Naruto would reach there in minutes; it seemed, with all his concentration focused on his destination.

At least, until he tripped and fell flat on his face…

"What the—"

He was cut off by the most unexpected sight. It was Kabuto, dead. Naruto bent down to get a better look and hopefully, an idea of the cause of his death. Aside from a few drops of blood on his shirt, Kabuto didn't even have a scratch. The item next to him was just as unexpected. It was a Sound headband. Naruto sniffed it cautiously. The Kyubi, from deep inside him, said, "It carries the scent of the Uchiha. It was his."

Naruto stored the headband in his bag and gently pulled Kabuto's eyelids over his lifeless eyes. Enemy or not, always give the dead respect. Then he stretched the collar of his shirt down to find two distinct puncture wounds.

Kabuto had died from a snake bite. Sasuke's headband was found at the scene of death. He was on Sasuke's trail, which, now that he took notice, stopped right in the area. Sasuke had made a visit to his former teammate at 2 in the morning and left. Sasuke was also in a battle at the moment.

Putting all the facts together in an organized and scientific method, Naruto came to a well-constructed conclusion.

'Ah! What the hell is going on? Goddamn it! My head hurts now!'

And with that, Naruto gathered himself together before returning to his journey to the Hidden Sound Village. He would find out when he gets there. Looking back to where he imagined his teammates to be, he vaguely wondered if they were as clueless as he was.

Now that the gigantic trail had ended, Naruto could no longer just run without thinking. He decided to follow in the direction where he sensed Sasuke's and Orochimaru's chakra. Maybe they were training? Suddenly, he sensed a spike in both their chakras. Maybe they were training intensely? But why would Sasuke kill Kabuto?

Concentrating chakra to his legs and feet again, he continued running. Then, he turned on his earpiece and mini-microphone. "Sakura-chan! Hey Sakura-chan, are you there?"

"Naruto?"

"Sakura-chan, can you hear me?"

"Yes, Naruto. What is it?"

"I found something strange. I think you need to know."

"What's so strange?"

"Kabuto's dead."

"What?"

"Kabuto's dead. I found his body further up the trail by the river. I think he died from a poisonous snake bite."

"Okay, I'll tell the team."

"Oh, and I found Sasuke-teme's headband right next to him."

"That can't be. You already have his headband."

"No, not the one with the slash in it. It was his _Sound_ headband."

"I didn't even know Sasuke-kun had a Sound headband. He wasn't wearing one when we saw him two years ago."

"Same here, but the Kyubi said that his scent was all over it. It had to belong to Sasuke-teme."

"Why would Kabuto have Sasuke-kun's headband?"

"I don't know, Sakura-chan. But I think Sasuke-teme killed him."

"But why?"

"I don't know. I'm about to reach the Sound Village; I'll find out there."

"Alright, I'll notify the rest of the group."

"Oh, and one more thing. I can sense Orochimaru's and Sasuke-teme's chakra up ahead. I'm not sure if they're training or something, but they're using a lot of chakra. And Sasuke-teme's using the Cursed Seal."

"Okay, is that all?"

"Pretty much."

"I'll tell everyone else the news. Now just remember, Naruto, I sent you ahead to get us some more information, not to fight. I don't want you plunging into battle on your own. Got it?"

"Hai, Sakura-chan!"

"See you later, Naruto."

"Ja ne!" Naruto then clicked his earpiece and mini-microphone off, wondering how Sakura-chan and the rest of the group would take the news.

---------------------------------------------------------------Inside Orochimaru's "Office"----------------------------------------------------------------------

Sasuke and Orochimaru were locked in a heated battle using the two Kusanagi swords. And Sasuke was once again on the losing side. Being stabbed several times already, it only made the new wounds hurt even worse.

All during there sword fight, Sasuke had been strategically steering Orochimaru closer and closer to his throne. They were so close to the flames, both of the ninja had burns on their bodies.

Using the flat of his blade, Sasuke suddenly pushed Orochimaru away. He kept one hand on the handle of his sword and the other to form one-handed seals.

"Chidori Nagashi!" (One Thousand Birds Current)

His chakra surrounded his whole body and protected him as Orochimaru swung his sword of heaven. Using the Chidori Nagashi as a defense, he stopped Orochimaru's attack and shocked him, temporarily paralyzing most of his body.

Orochimaru grunted with his back leaning on the chair. He could barely lift his sword and could not stand. He glared at Sasuke, prepared for the next attack. He was expecting him to use the chidori or stab him with his Kusanagi sword. So he used his chakra to form a shield in front of him.

But Sasuke was pulling a kunai out of his holster. He then threw it a few feet to the left of Orochimaru, setting off the traps he set earlier. They were arranged like a mine field; when one went off, it set a chain reaction. The main difference was that there were no explosions.

Orochimaru suddenly felt a chakra string attached to him and pin him to his throne. And then another one came, and another one and another one…till there were six in all. Orochimaru then concentrated on the chakra strings, weakening his shield and his hold on the Kusanagi sword.

This was his chance. He formed a different set of seals and he gathered his chakra in his fist. This jutsu should be strong enough to break through Orochimaru's shield.

All the while, Orochimaru was concentrating on releasing the chakra strings that were binding him. Using his chakra, he was slowly unraveling and tearing Sasuke's chakra strings. Yes! There went one!

Then he noticed Sasuke preparing for his ultimate attack. Two!

And Orochimaru was gaining the feeling back in his limbs. Three!

The chakra was glowing in Sasuke's hand. Four!

Sasuke touched his fist to his own Kusanagi sword and his chakra spread along the length of the blade. Five!

Lifting his blade and pouring all his chakra into it, Sasuke swung down. SIX!

"Habataku Chidori!" (Flapping One Thousand Birds)

Instead of the usual chirping sounds of the chidori, the habataku let out a frightening roar. It's power was far more that the normal chidori.

Orochimaru tried to move his blade in time to block the attack. Sasuke's blade cut through the shield like butter and then through Orochimaru's flesh. He hadn't been fast enough…

Both of the swords of heaven could be heard clattering to the ground. Orochimaru's head sagged unceremoniously as his whole body slumped to the ground, motionless. Sasuke collapsed on the ground, sight going in and out of focus.

He slowly turned his head to get a look at his former sensei. He was dead. _Orochimaru was dead. Orochimaru is dead. I won…_

'Great, I won the battle. Now, how am I going to get out of here? I can't move my body.' Across the room, another part of the roof caved in.

It had been like an on/off switch or something. First, he had had all that chakra and energy wielding the habataku chidori along with the…the Cursed Seal! That was it! Since Orochimaru, the source of the seal's power, was dead, the Cursed Seal was gone. With his chakra and the Cursed Seal gone, Sasuke found himself in another rather grim situation. He was a sitting duck! And the flames were closing in and down below he heard another crash. The building would fall to the ground!

He tried to find some part of his body that he could still move…his left arm…and his right foot. Using those limbs, Sasuke slowly pulled/crawled/dragged himself over to the part of the wall that had been blown out earlier. He could throw himself out of the doomed building…to die at the hands of a nine story drop. Perfect, he was trapped.

* * *

**This had to be the hardest chapter to write. At first, I could only write a few sentences a day. But then just yesterday, I started writing again. I wrote the rest of this today. Hopefully, this signals the end of my writer's block. HOPEFULLY... But I'm going to go out of town again (just for three days this time) Let's all pray I have the inspiration to write like crazy when I get back.**

**Haha! I killed Orochimaru and left Sasuke in a crumbling building paralyzed. Bet you all were thinking once he killed Oro that this would be over--No! I'm just mean like that. And I felt kinda bad leaving Sakura out of this one, so I added her little speaking part. There was supposed to be some Hinata x Naruto in this chapter, but...it wouldn't work out.**

**Now review! Maybe your reviews will be transformed into chakra that Sasuke can use to escape the building! Maybe not... who really knows? ME! **


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: Who's stupid enough to think I own Naruto? Come on, let's have a show of hands. Wow...I wasn't expecting that many... (sweatdrops)... **

**I do not own Naruto or any of its characters. **

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**Not So Simple After All**

**Chapter 8**

The Sound nins gathered just outside their village gates. Since Orochimaru was nowhere to be found, Sasuke had burned down most of the village, and Kabuto had gone missing, the remaining Sound nins took it upon themselves to choose a new leader.

And that leader was Bunmei Norikazu. He was a strong ANBU with many successful S-classed missions under his belt. Originally, he was a ninja in the Mist Country, but he had to flee when he was caught stealing money from the rich and wealthy. He was prone to peace and detested war, but that didn't mean he wouldn't fight when needed to. He had been in many meetings with Orochimaru and his council and he was trusted throughout the Sound Village (or as trusted as one could be). He had the most experience in defending a home front, so he was chosen as the temporary leader of the Sound nins.

Or rather, what was left of the Sound nins. The Sound force was already small, and now they had been cut down to 2/3 of their original size. The other third hadn't shown up when everyone was called out battle, whether they burned to death or fled the city wasn't that important, they just hadn't shown up.

No one wanted to go after the Uchiha; Norikazu and the others decided to let him be. Fighting him was a risk they weren't willing to take. Honestly, they didn't stand a chance against him, and they all knew it.

But then he had to direct his men to guard the south gate. A large amount of chakra had been sensed heading that way. Norikazu had been expecting a team or a small army. One of the last things he expected was a blonde spiky-haired man running full speed into the clearing and crashing into the gate. The man's eyes couldn't keep up with the speed he was running, apparently.

And now, nearly everyone was in the fight that had been going on for hours. That single man had created over a hundreds of kage bunshins Norikazu himself was busy fighting off one of the many clones. The Sound nins were being overwhelmed by one man? It seemed impossible, but now, anything seemed to be possible. Oh boy, wasn't this turning out to be a great day?

Just then two scouts appeared beside Norikazu and helped him finish off the bunshin he had been fighting.

"Any news?" inquired Norikazu.

We're not holding up so well. Our forces are tiring out and our reinforcements from our neighboring villages haven't arrived yet. To top it off, a few of the clones breached our walls. They're inside Oto right now."

_That couldn't be good…_

"Send a squad to fend them off. Try to get them out of the city as soon as possible. What about Orochiamru-sama? Have you found out anything about him?"

"No, unfortunately not. No one can find a trace of him. Last he was seen, he was in his office this morning waiting for Uchiha-sama's return."

"Well, I'll guess he got what he was waiting for. What else have you got?"

"Our scouts have confirmed that Kabuto is dead. We found his body about a mile from here. He died of poison from a snake bite. We have reason to believe Uchiha-sama was responsible for his death. His headband was found at the place of death."

"That would fit in with his recent actions. He's betraying the Sound Village," said Norikazu, preparing to charge at a different clone.

"That's not everything. A group of ninja are headed this way. We figure there are about a little over 10 of them. They all have strong chakra. If they're anything like this guy," the scout said pointing to one of the many bunshins, "we're doomed."

"Let's pray they're not here to fight. We can't take much more damage."

Norikazu wiped the sweat off his forehead as he surveyed the scene before him. His ninja were finally gaining some momentum as more and more of the clones, however slowly, were vanquished. If another enemy showed up, they would just fall apart.

Their homes were all burning down. Two of their leaders were missing and one leader had betrayed them. Some of their comrades had not shown up for the battle. They were losing comrades at this very moment. Their entire way of life was being destroyed, and they still kept fighting on for a home that wasn't even there anymore.

If Norikazu could pick one moment that he was proudest of his nation, it was then. Maybe the Sound nins had some integrity, it was just their leaders that were cold and ruthless. Maybe there was hope for them after all in the future, hopefully, a future without so many wars and enemies.

--------------------------------------------Inside the Sound Village, on the corner of Main and Second Street-------------------------------------------------

"Where are you now, Naruto?" asked Sakura over the microphone.

"I'm in the Sound Village. I've been here for a couple hours already," was his reply.

"How are things over there?"

"Well, those Sound nins must have known I was coming. They were all at the gate waiting for me. But don't worry, Sakura-chan. My bunshins are taking care of them as we speak!"

"Naruto, I told you _not_ to get into a fight!"

"Well…they started it!"

"If I was there right now I would beat you into a pulp!"

"It's nice to know you care about me, Sakura-chan."

"Consider yourself dead meat."

…_gulp…_

"Whatever, just tell me what's going on up there."

"Everything is on fire, and I mean _everything_. Most of the buildings and houses are a pile of ashes right now."

"Did you find Sasuke-kun?"

"No, not yet, and it's weird. I was sure I sensed that teme's chakra, but now I can't find trace of it.

"What about Orochimaru?"

"It's the same thing. It's like they disappeared."

"Did they leave?"

"I don't know."

"Okay, Naruto, I want you to find the surviving civilians and help them into safety."

"Civilians? I don't see any civilians, Sakura-chan. I think all of Sound is basically ninjas. I haven't seen a civilian yet."

"Alright then…just wait until we get there. I and the rest of the team should be there in about 15 more minutes. Just wait!"

"Hai, Sakura-chan!"

"See ya!"

Naruto sighed as he switched his earpiece and mini-microphone off. This day was getting more and more irritating fast! He could be sleeping right now…or eating ramen…mmm…ramen...

Naruto began pacing through the village, peeking into houses to make sure everyone was out. There was no one that he could find, unless he counted a few bodies here and there. There really couldn't be any civilians here, the Sound wasn't a place for villagers in the first place. And it was a good thing too, nothing was spared when it came to Sasuke and his big bonfire.

He sighed once again as he looked around at the bleak and tragic scene. Was Sasuke-teme really capable of all of this? _Yes_…But why? _Ummm…_

Naruto's attention was diverted when the ground gave a short tremor. He hurriedly looked around to find its cause. Then he found it. Straight ahead was a large burning tower about to crumble to the ground. And what was that? It looked like an arm…and there was the head…torso…What was someone leaning out of a window for? That building was about to fall!

Naruto ran ahead to see what the man was doing when he noticed the man had very familiar black spiky hair…

Was that…could it really be him?

Just then the figure awkwardly heaved itself out of the building and began plummeting towards the ground.

"TEME!"

-----------------------------------------In a Cluster of Trees Just Outside of the Sound Village---------------------------------------

"Goddamn it! I didn't think he meant all the Sound nins were out here!" yelled Kiba.

"Well, what did you expect?" said Sakura, "The Sound nins are probably thinking right now that their village is under attack."

"It kind of is," added Kakashi, "seeing as it's burning to the ground and we're about to join in the fight."

The group was now waiting, hidden in the trees on the outskirts of a small clearing. Beyond this clearing was the Sound's southern gate into their city. In between these trees and this gate were the Sound's finest (okay, maybe not _the finest_) fighting a bunch of Naruto kage bunshins.

"Everyone ready?" asked Shikamaru.

Neji activated his Bakuyan and Tenten pulled out her weapon scrolls and Chouji got out his food pills and Lee was mentally preparing himself going over all of Gai's advice and Ino was sharpening her nails razor sharp and Hinata activated her Bakuyan and Shino gathered his bugs and Kiba got Akamaru's food pills out and Sakura molded her chakra into a scalpel on her hand and Kakashi pocketed his Ichi Ichi Paradise Volume 17 and pulled his headband up to uncover his Sharingan eye and Shikamaru yawned and rubbed the sleepiness out of his eyes before muttering, "what a drag…"

"Hai," came everyone's reply.

"Let's go!"

The group leapt into the battle to aid the many Naruto clones.

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**Yeah! Another chapter! And I still don't have writer's block! I am so going to jinx myself...oh well.** **I felt this chapter was kind of short, especially compared to my last chapter, but what could I do? It all seems kind of anti-climatic now. There were a few more paragraphs at the end, but I cut those off and I'm going to use them to start my next chapter. This story should end after the 10th chapter anyway. I can't wait till I end this, then I can start writing a new chapter story. I am so excited about the next one! I already have it all planned out in a prewrite (that web kind). **

**Bet all of you can already tell what's going to happen next? At least some of you do, I know that. Especially with that last Naruto scene. It felt kind of funny to yell "Sasuke-teme!" in a hurry, so I just shortened it. Typical...Naruto's first words to Sasuke in over 2 years are when he calls hima bastard. **

**Also, I don't expect that I can update as often as I like anymore. School is starting next Monday for me. I'm going to be a freshman in high school this year! which means more projects, more homework, more studying, more parents ragging on me, and more unecassary drama. In the words of Shikamaru, "How troublesome..."**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I think you get it...**

**VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV**

**Not So Simple After All**

**Chapter 9**

Naruto climbed to the top of the wall all the while keeping a close eye on the unconscious man below. Peering over, Naruto viewed the battle scene. She was here. He motioned to one of his many clones to come over. And suddenly there were two Narutos peering over the south gate wall.

"Hey you!" said Naruto.

"What?" asked the clone.

"Go find Sakura-chan. Tell her I need her help now!"

"I'm on it!"

"Hurry!"

The clone vaulted himself back over the wall and began searching the area for Sakura. Naruto jumped down next to his old teammate, Sasuke Uchiha. 'She better hurry. He's not going to hold out much longer.'

Just as those thoughts ran through his head, he heard the distinctive 'zing' of a kunai whooshing through the air right next to his ear. He was lucky he had taken a step forward right then, or else he would have been a goner. Naruto's eyes quickly searched the surrounding area, depicting his enemies and their locations. He could take them, but that would leave an opening for them to get to Sasuke. They would kill him for sure! After all, he had burnt down their village. Naruto would have to ensure Sasuke's safety before he could fight. But how?

Naruto slung Sasuke over his shoulder and began contemplating an escape plan. He drew out two kunai and prepared for the inevitable onslaught. His enemies began charging at him, all of them forming chakra seals. Naruto readjusted Sasuke and was about to call up more kage bunshins.

But before any of them could finish their seals and activate their jutsus, a voice was heard calling out—from on top of the wall—and suddenly Naruto felt another person's hand wrap around his wrist and pull him backwards so that he slammed into the wall behind him.

"Suiton: Suishouha no Jutsu!"

Water was everywhere—raining on him from above and pouring down in front. But where had it come from? If Naruto remembered correctly, the river was still half a mile from here. The water thrashed all over the place, drowning the fires but destroying what was left of the front part of the Sound Village. The water then proceeded to flood the town and wash away the attacking Sound nin. The fire had been put out, but now there was a flood at least a 5 inches high.

Naruto looked up when the water began slowing down. The Sound nin who was standing on the wall before was lying there, unconscious. Kakashi was standing just beside him, his visible eye concentrated on Naruto—or rather, the person slung over Naruto's shoulder.

"Naruto?"

It was Sakura. She was standing right beside him, gripping his wrist tightly. She, too, was staring at the missing nin.

"Is that really…Sasuke-kun?"

Naruto adjusted the body on his shoulder to get a better look at his face. "Yep, that's definitely Sasuke-teme. Ne, Sakura-chan, do you think you can save him?"

The pause following his question didn't help to settle his nerves. Sakura was analyzing his injuries. It didn't look good at all. He had more stab wounds on his torso than Ino had in piercings (that's a lot).

"I'll do what I can here, but we really need to get him to a hospital."

Naruto nodded his head before heaving Sasuke back onto his shoulder. "We should move him to a safer location first, away from the fighting."

The newly soaked town looked impossibly barren. Buildings had burned and collapsed, anything that still standing was burned black and wet. "Any ideas?"

Kakashi dropped down to the ground beside them. "I saw a place. It's on the other side of this town, so the fires haven't completely destroyed it. It still has a few walls standing."

---------------------------------------That Place------------------------------------------

To be exact, it had two and a half walls still standing. The roof was long gone. No clean water could be obtained; the sink was barely recognizable. On the plus side, the smoke had cleared and no one was in the vicinity. Perhaps the only useful things found were half a pack of soldier pills that had survived the flames and a burnt-but-soaked futon.

As Sakura finished examining the small house, (or what was left of it, whichever is preferable) she called out to Naruto. "Set him down right there," she said, pointing to the futon, "Search the rest of the house and see if there is any usable medical tape or cloth."

"Sure thing, Sakura-chan."

Naruto laid the Uchiha down on the futon before disappearing into one of the other rooms. Hopefully, he would find something useful.

Sakura immediately began her work. She channeled her chakra into Sasuke's body. He had a hole in his left lung, so she started there first. Using her refined chakra, she began regenerating his cells and tissue. Ever so slowly, the hole in his lung disappeared, replaced by rapidly-grown chakra-infused cells.

Next, she moved on to his ribs. A few of them were broken and cracked. Adjusting his ribs back into their proper positions, she called on her chakra again to seal the cracks and holes. Soon, the bones were mended as well.

It happened when she was reconnecting the muscle tissue to his ribs and spine. She wasn't sure what had happened exactly, but the shock wore off in a flash. This was the Uchiha prodigy after all…

He stirred.

Okay, maybe he wasn't waking up or anything, but this was definitely a positive sign. He had shifted his body just a bit. He was still in pain, he even winced. Sakura sighed as she noticed his brows knitted together. She should do something about this; he must be in incredible pain.

After fishing around in her bag, she finally pulled out a little tube of anesthetics and an injector. Sasuke let out a low, soft growl. She filled the injector with the anesthetic, careful to put the right amount. Over dosing him could be disastrous.

Suddenly, Sasuke clenched his fist. He was waking up after all. But Sakura couldn't allow that, not yet, anyway. It would disrupt the healing processes and might increase his injuries. Also, knowing Sasuke, he'd protest her treatment and try to escape or…never mind, he was in no condition to fight, not even with Sakura.

With one quick, fluent motion, she injected the anesthetics through a vein in his arm. Just then, his eyes snapped open and locked with hers a second time that day, a seemingly impossible feat. The only difference from then was that this time, Sasuke would be the one going to sleep and Sakura would remain awake.

She whispered, "Don't worry Sasuke-kun, everything will be fine. Just go back to sleep now."

"Sakura…" he tried to speak, but his words came out as a barely audible, hoarse whisper. "Sakura…How…?" Sasuke tried to sit up, but the pain immediately increased and coursed through him. Sakura gingerly pushed him back down so he wouldn't strain himself.

"None of that matters, Sasuke-kun. Just rest. You'll be fine."

"Sakura…no…" but then, he drifted off, eyes closing and his breath evening out. The anesthetics had done their job excellently. Now Sakura could continue her work in peace, and Sasuke wouldn't feel a glimpse of pain…more importantly, he couldn't try to revolt or escape.

As she continued re-attaching his muscle tissue, she heard Naruto stumble through a what-used-to-be doorway. He was carrying several stacks of clothing. He peeked around the massive load and said, "Hey Sakura-chan, do you think this will do?"

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**Yay! I updated! I know this took awhile, but it was worth it right? If you say wrong, then let me let you know: I've worked on this! Trying to make time for writing fics is impossible. The only time I can find is like, late at night and such or on Sundays. You are lucky I could find time to wrtie this considereing how much science homework I have! Not to mention all my other subjects, but science is the motherload.**

**I could have updated sooner actually, but with a different chapter. Originally, this chapter had much more Naruto and a bit more Norikazu, but I trashed it. I needed a way to include more sasusaku. So I had to rewrite this with less Naruto, more sasusaku, and I just completely threw out Norikazu. Oh well, it's not like he's an important character.**

**Next chapter is the last! WOOHOO!**

**Now review, little sasusaku fans! Make me proud! **


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: After 10 whole chapters, I think everyone gets it. **

**Now, time for the final chapter! You know, I remember when it was just a oneshot, taking its first steps. It grew up so fast! (starts crying in the background) **

* * *

**Not So Simple After All **

**Chapter 10 **

The Konohoa nins took their time on their way back home, the younger Uchiha in tow. He had woken up quite soon, around the time that Sakura's anesthetics had worn off. He trudged on the best that he could. Sasuke had recovered quite quickly. As so, he had to walk the whole way with a squad of ANBU (all of whom were his old comrades) surrounding him the whole time.

He was in a very sour and grumpy mood. Of course, that was probably due to all the precautions Shikamaru was taking. Neji had sealed all Sasuke's chakra outlets. As said before, the whole team was surrounding him, watching his every move. Naruto had tightly tied Sasuke's hands together behind his back using his chakra strings, and then chained his feet together with just enough slack in the rope to walk. Kiba had even promised to break all his fingers if the Uchiha tried anything. What a warm welcome…

Sakura had remained a little behind the group, keeping a steady pace with Ino, who had been injured during the fight. She was trying her best to avoid her ex-teammate's range of vision. She knew he could still sense her chakra, but at least he couldn't see her. He he…there was a pretty big chance of Sasuke remembering their little reunion, which was not something that would ease the tension between the two. So for now, she would just try to remain out of his way.

Hey, so far, it was working.

Nightfall was approaching fast as the sun sank lower and lower in the sky. The group decided to set up camp for the night. God knows they needed rest after the big fight. Speaking of which, ended only after the Sound nins discovered Orochimaru was dead and some Norikazu fellow surrendered.

No one had packed any tents in the twenty minutes they had been allowed to get ready; so all would be sleeping under the stars tonight. Due to his injuries, Lee was resting in the undergrowth. Kiba and Akamaru went off hunting. Hinata and Neji were posted as lookouts. Chouji had soon followed in Kiba's direction after complaining that he was taking too long. Naruto, Kakashi, and Sakura were all sitting around a fire; Sakura was busy checking p everyone's wounds.

Now, all of this left Shikamaru and Ino to interrogate the rather uncooperative Sasuke. Safe to say, they weren't making much progress. Uchiha Sasuke was never one for communication, and never would be. He could sit engulfed in the most uncomfortable and depressing silence and not give a damn. Literally. And just as expected, he sat in complete silence as Shikamaru interrogated him the best he could. There really was no getting through to him.

Well, little did Shikamaru know, he had long lost the attention of his troublesome prisoner. Sasuke had been tuning his interrogators out almost since they started. His gaze was, instead, focused on the small group huddled around the fire. His old team—dare he say it—his old family, were right in front of him.

He watched them talk and laugh and poke fun at each other. Their conversation drifted from topic to topic, never faltering. It went from complaining about how tired they were to how excited Tsunade would be when she found out Orochimaru was dead to Sasuke himself.

It was rather strange hearing them talk about him. Sure, they were glad they were finally bringing him home. Naruto couldn't wait for Sasuke to be healed so he could beat the shit out of him. Kakashi pointed out that there was a good chance that the Sasuke (who was eavesdropping on this very conversation) had undergone many changes and would be extremely different then from when he was a genin. Then Naruto got a good laugh when Sakura pointed out that technically, Sasuke still was a genin.

She was also the one who brought the subject around to Sasuke's punishment. At this, the once cheerful atmosphere grew tense. They all had their own fears concerning this tender topic, and it was clearly evident right then. It was Kakashi who broke the silence, "We've done all we can do. The rest is up to Sasuke, the Council, and Tsunade."

Sasuke gritted his teeth. He had come so far; he couldn't die yet. Not before he killed Itachi. There was no way he would go quietly; there was no way he would go. Absolutely positively no…

-------------------------------------------------------------Later That Night------------------------------------------------------------------

Sakura's eyes snapped open. She had been sleeping, however fitfully, when she had felt…this sort of presence. It had been a gut-wrenching feeling that something (or someone) was just above her—watching her.

And now, she was wide awake. Sakura sat upright in her sleeping bag, her breath evening out. She looked around the campsite; nothing caught her eye. Everything was just as it should be.

All her fellow nin were sound asleep. The only other person awake was Kakashi, who was sitting by the fire reading one of his notorious _Icha Icha Paradise_ books, surprise, surprise. It must have been his shift as lookout.

Kakashi immediately noticed her awakening. Flipping the page in his book, he turned his head and said, "Sakura, I think it's a bit too early to start off the day, but if you insist."

Sakura wiggled out of her sleeping bag and into the cold night air. It was still quite dark outside. She pulled on her grey hoodie and sat down by her former sensei. "Aa. I wasn't getting much sleep anyway."

"Anxious?"

"That's the nice way of putting it."

"Say, do you mind watching over camp for a few minutes?" Sakura silently raised an eyebrow in question. "You see," Kakashi continued, "I haven't been able to leave my post for a while, and I could really use a bathroom break. Besides, you weren't getting much sleep anyway."

She shrugged her shoulders in return. "Go ahead."

Kakashi took his time getting up. He started walking—quite leisurely for a man who needed to relieve himself—into the woods. Hopefully, he would choose a spot far, far away.

Sakura turned her attention to the fire before her. The heat stung her eyes and nose, but it warmed the rest of her quite comfortably. She let out a yawn and stretched her arms above her head. So much for being wide awake…

She heard shuffling behind her and turned around. It was Sasuke. By the looks of it, he hadn't gotten a good sleep either. In fact, it looked like he hadn't gotten any sleep at all. He sat down a few feet away from her, not even sparing her a glance.

Sakura inwardly sighed. 'This will be interesting…' It was her first time in years to be alone with Sasuke, even if her teammates were sleeping not far off. There was the whole "sneaking into her room at night at two in the morning" and also the "knocking him out with a dose of anesthetics" thing. Everything had happened so quickly; it felt like a whole year had passed in the last twenty-four hours.

"So," she started off nervously, "What brings you here this time of night?"

Still not looking at her, he answered, "You and Kakashi woke me up." For just waking up, he looked pretty alert. It must be all that ninja training.

"Sorry," she muttered.

The silence pressed in on the two. Sakura felt as if she were being crushed with the pressure, desperately hoping for Kakashi to return quickly and relieve her. Sasuke, on the other hand, seemed completely unaffected. He could sit in the most uncomfortable situations and not even flinch. It was a talent of his he had perfected during his stay in the Sound.

She wiggled her bare toes in the dirt and hugged her knees to her chest. "Sasuke-kun?"

"Hn."

"I have to ask…What were you doing in my room?"

"Hn."

"Sasuke-kun?"

"You don't want to know."

"Tell me."

"…No…"

"Come on…"

"Hn."

"I'm sure I can handle it."

"What part of 'no' do you not understand?"

Sakura let out a sigh of exasperation. There was just no getting to him. She had heard from Ino and Shikamaru that from an hour of intensive interrogations, they had not gained a single answer. Somehow, Sakura had not found this surprising. "So, can you at least tell me why you killed Orochimaru?"

"Can I get a break from all your damned naggings?"

"It can't be that hard to give me an answer."

"Hn."

"…Well?"

"…I don't know…"

"Please tell me you have a reason for killing him."

"Aa."

"Look, Sasuke-kun, I know you hate answering questions and communication in general, but you're going to have to sooner or later. The Council's gonna need your cooperation."

"Hn."

"Aren't you afraid of execution? At all?"

"Hn."

"It's sure to be your demise if you keep this up. Although, they might lighten your punishment since you killed Orochimaru, but they can't if they know that you killed him for no particular reason."

"…I just had to kill him…I couldn't remain with him longer…"

"Why?"

He turned to look, for the first time that night—for the first time in a long time, Sakura straight in the eye. "He gave me an order I could not obey."

Sakura opened her mouth to ask yet another question, but deciding against it, shut it abruptly. True, Sasuke had momentarily opened up to her; but he still had his limits. Maybe she should stop while she was ahead…

She stuffed her hands deep within her jacket's pocket. Huffing in impatience, she cursed Kakashi for leaving her alone with the Uchiha. Surely Kakashi would have realized that Sasuke had woken up. And then he just _had _to go to the bathroom. What was taking him so long anyway? It was taking him almost ten minutes now.

Strangely, it was Sasuke who broke the nerve-racking silence between them. The words came out in a raspy, distant voice. "I will not die yet. Not while _he_ is still alive."

Sakura momentarily closed her eyes and leaned back. "So you do want to live. Could have fooled me."

Sasuke peered at her from the corner of his eye. She had changed…a bit more than he wanted her too. True, he hated her gushing and fretting over him in their genin days, but her new-found aloofness was just…this wasn't the Sakura he knew, the one who wore her emotions on the edge of her sleeve. This wasn't his Sakura…

The next words Sasuke literally had to force out of his mouth. "What do I have to do?"

Sakura cracked an eye open to look at him. From the dark abyss of her mind, Inner Sakura asked "Is he being serious?" She mentally shook herself back to the moment. "All you really need to do is to cooperate. You know, actually answer your interrogation questions and such."

"That's all?"

"Well, I guess. Since you killed Orochimaru and Kabuto, I know the Council won't execute you. Your cooperation should keep you out of prison—for the most part. There is one more thing you could have done, but it's too late for that."

"What?"

"Technically, we captured you at the Sound Village. Now, if you had come home on your own, it would have showed a willingness to return to Konohoa, instead of us having to report we had you chained up and guarded the whole way. I know that would have lightened you punishment. But like I said, it's too late for that."

"You never gave me a chance."

"Huh?" Sakura wasn't stupid, she knew what he meant. She just couldn't quite grasp the concept just yet.

"To come home on my own."

For a moment, time seemed to stop as all these thoughts raced inside Sakura's head.

_Sasuke-kun? _

_Shhh, Sakura... _

_Sakura, I'll come back to you. I promise, I will return. You see, I have a mission to finish, but then I can come back, to figure out a few things. _

"Oh Sasuke-kun!" She flung herself on him and wrapped her arms around him, consequently knocking the breath out of Sasuke and sending them both toppling over.

"Ah—Sakura," he breathed, gasping for breath. Sasuke was about to revert back to his old ways, to pry her off of him and call her annoying; but she was too much. He slowly returned her hug and felt his own alien smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, a small smile, but a smile nonetheless. Her smile was bright and true and she was gently laughing and her eyes shone with joy and her hair was in disarray and her skin was soft and warm and she was so happy—She was happy.

_Now this was his Sakura… _

_---------------------------------------------------------------------------_Behind An Oak Tree-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Not even ten feet away stood someone else. The man was smiling. It was a bit hard to tell since he wore a mask over most of his face, but his only visible eye crinkled, giving it away. In one hand he still held his Icha Icha Paradise open (he wouldn't be the same without it), but hadn't turned a single page since he left the campfire. Who could honestly read in the dark anyway?

Most importantly, in the other hand, he held a small black device. Listening to his student's laughter, he shut it off, watching as the tape stopped winding. This one tape would be the key in getting the Uchiha the lightest punishment as possible.

He hesitantly peered around the trunk of a grand oak at the two. He would give them a few more minutes. Then he placed the recorder in one of the pockets on his jounin vest and pulled out his flashlight from another. Now, he could finally get back to his favorite pastime.

As he read, line by line, page by page, his smile did not fade. He would have never guessed this day would turn out so well. Actually, he hadn't been in this good a mood in quite a while.

Things were definitely looking up…

* * *

**As one of those old smart guys say, all good things must come to an end.**

**OWARI**

**

* * *

I know, I know. It's taken me over two months for this, but believe me, it was necessary. I wanted to make the end as perfect as possible. All in all, this chapter got revamped 4 times. It went from a scene in the hospital to the park to back in the Sound to back in the hospital and finally, on the journey home. Some of you might have wanted a kiss scene, but that's just too OOC for this fic. Besides, Sasuke doesn't know he likes Sakura _yet. _I also decided to leave a vague ending. This leaves everything open. Who knows? I 'm thought about making a sequel, but I just want to set this story down for now. I have another fic I want to concentrate on anyway. I might pick it up later, it depends on whether or not I get any inspiration. **

Ahem, now to thank all my reviewers: Krazzy-chan, tiffanylicis, Natsuhiboshi, Illicit Memory, -Out-of-Inspiration-, Sasuke's Lover, Paprika012345, Andrea 8000, Lord Melkor, Carmen, Bubble Nightmare, dashdashhypenspace-, icygirl2, VioletWriter, Gothic Kunoichi, Uchiha Aelita, kawaii chibi sasuke luver, secretshadows, mtm123, Shikyo Yaiba, metrogurl803, ur toaster, Tsukia-chan x3, daydreamer22057, graviola, Priestess kurumi inu's sister, sasukefaves, emeraldoni, Angel-with-Guns, LittleOneX3, amylovestakuya, puppy444219, Firemoon520, Spread-My-Wingz-And-Soar, lanie-chan, narutofaves, brenu, sorrowsblossom27, CelestialClouds

Your reviews are much appreciated! Oh, and if I mispelled anyone's name or just left you out, I'm sorry.

I wish everyone a Happy Holiday (even though it's technically over)! Now, make me happy and leave a review on the way out!

Ja ne!


	11. Author's Note

**Um...no, this is not part of a fic... it is an author's note**

**Really, this is just for those who had this story on alert still. I had a few who asked me to email them whenever I did begin a sequel (this one ended months ago), and I'd thought I'd just expand it and send it to everyone. if you're interested, (which i take it you are), i have now started a sequel. No Regrets**

**Kinda funny, I always got annoyed when someone updated with an author's note. Eh, who cares. My old fans, I gave you a sequel; now go read it!**


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